Corporate Sector Authority
The Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) was the government of a free enterprise fiefdom known as the Corporate Sector, which was located in the end of the Tingel Arm. Home to many of the galaxy's major businesses, the CSA began making an effort to act as a more neutral party within galactic politics as the New Republic began its rise to prominence, as opposed to its more openly Imperial leanings of previous years. Many attributed this change in stance to the Bank of the Core's wish to openly pursue venue in a wider market. History The Corporate Sector was first formed in 490 BBY, in order to resolve differences between Galactic Republic lawmakers and the heads of many of the galaxy's largest corporations. The Corporate Sector originally consisted of a few hundred star systems, all of which were devoid of intelligent life. The corporations allowed to operate in the sector could purchase entire regions of space. However, they were meant to be supervised by the Galactic Republic. At some point before 27 BBY, the CSA was trying to oust the Hutts from Ando Prime and obtain financial control over the planet. As strength proved unsuccessful, the CSA assigned a mid-level agent, Kaeline Ungasan, to wrestle with the Desilijic clan for the control of podracing. Ungasan organized an alternative course, the Ungasan Cross Country, but he also used it as a front for an illegal mining operation without the CSA knowing. As soon as the CSA suspected of Ungasan, they sent some agents to track him. Eventually, Ungasan's scheme was publically discovered in 27 BBY and his association with the CSA also tarnished them. In the last years of the Republic, a group of lobbyists known as the Galactic Corporate Policy League, backed by such influential figures as Baron Tagge began to get in close with then-Chancellor Palpatine, presumably representing the loyalist companies in the sector, although during the Clone Wars most of the Corporate Sector supported the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After the conflict's resolution, several of his influential corporate allies convinced him to expand the Corporate Sector to nearly 30,000 star systems, and with the signing of the Corporate Sector Charter a new umbrella company was formed from the GCPL to rule the newly-expanded sector: The Corporate Sector Authority. The CSA took possession of many of the remaining droids belonging to the Confederacy following the Battle of Murkhana, and as per its agreement with the Empire paid an annual stipend of 3% of the sector's gross product, as well as a tithe of materials and ore produced. In the years after the war's end much of the surviving Corporate Alliance's assets relocated to the Corporate Sector. Eleven sentient species were discovered in this expansion, though the Corporate Sector was careful to cover this fact up. The Corporate Sector also came into conflict with the felinoid Trianii species. An armistice was eventually signed between the Corporate Sector and the Trianii three years after the start of the conflict. During Emperor Palpatine's reign over the galaxy, many of the Corporate Sector's companies developed technologies for use by the Empire. However, following the Battle of Hoth a contributing company, Galactic Electronics, developed a new magnetic pulse warhead and sold it to the Rebel Alliance. In retaliation the Imperial Star Destroyer Glory invaded the sector and seized the corporation's deep-space research facility. During the Galactic Civil War, many people sought refuge in the Corporate Sector; however, it was not long before those people discovered that the Corporate Sector was far more stark than the Empire. In the wake of the Battle of Endor and the Emperor's death the Corporate Sector tried to remain neutral and sold products to both the New Republic and the Empire. The New Republic, however, was too burdened with establishing a new government to sign a long-lasting partnership with the corporate-minded fiefdom - especially since some in the New Republic considered the CSA to be just as bad as the Empire. Seeking to correct this view, one of the founding members of the Corporate Sector Authority, the Bank of the Core, took advantage of its ownership of the vast majority of business loans within the CSA and began pushing to bring the organization into a more genuinely neutral state. Maintaining good ties with the Empire, as well as the New Republic, would be a difficult balance, but they felt it was one they could achieve with due diligence. After all, everyone needed credits. Government and Politics The government of the Corporate Sector Authority was made up of several powerful corporations. These companies were managed by a Direx Board, whose members were all high ranking business executives. The Direx Board was led by the ExO, or Executive Officer, and other posts included Prex (President), Viceprex, Auditor-General and - until recently - the Imperial Advisor that represented the interests of the Galactic Empire. The monetary authority of the Corporate Sector was the Authority Currency Exchange. Etti IV was the administrative center for the sector as well as a major trading crossroads. Economy Companies affiliated with the Corporate Sector Authority: * Bank of the Core * Czerka * Merr-Sonn Culture The Corporate Sector Authority had much less racial discrimination than the humanocentric Galactic Empire. The prevailing culture of the Corporate Sector tended to value a being's financial status much more so than his, her, or its species of origin. On the other hand, The Corporate Sector Authority historically violated the rights of sentient beings. The CSA possessed exclusive rights to use the sector's resources as it saw fit; the corporations within the region would typically strip a planet bare, often using slave labor or destroying the world's natural environment in the process. The majority of the Authority's residents consisted of the working class; citizenship, which granted limited "shareholder" rights, was purchased, putting it out of the reach of most laborers. Labor relationships were extremely poor and most people lived in impoverished conditions; one of the most severe crimes in the Corporate Sector was to form, or even attempt to organize, a labor union. Military The Security Division of the Corporate Sector Authority was responsible for law enforcement and the defense of the CSA's territories. The police of the CSA, known as Espos, had a reputation for brutality. Many of those convicted of political crimes within the Sector were sentenced to terms at a secret prison called Stars' End. The Security Division also maintained a large fleet but of relatively outdated vessels to patrol their territory. Most of the fleet consisted of first-generation Victory-I-class Star Destroyers, Invincible-class Dreadnaughts, secondhand Lucrehulk-class battleships, Recusant-class light destroyers and Marauder-class corvettes. The Authority IRD was one of the numerous types of starfighters used by the Security Division, as was the former CIS Mankvim-814 light interceptor. The CSA began purchasing large amounts of Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers as soon as they were developed. At some point prior to the Battle of Yavin, the CSA military sold a number of its older Marauder cruisers to the fledgling Rebel Alliance. Category:Corporate Sector Authority